Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, MAY 7
All business establishments across the four villages of Purana Bazaar, Darogapathar, Padampukhuri and Naharbi – the conglomerate of which is known as East Dimapur – remained closed throughout Wednesday.
This total shutdown of trading activities, in what roughly constitutes as the other half of the commercial hub of Dimapur, was to protest against the “numerous complains of harassment and unabated taxation faced by the business community of East Dimapur” from the hands of Naga political groups. Wednesday’s shutdown was spearheaded by the East Dimapur Business Association (EDBA). Popular mass-movement, Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) also threw its weight behind EDBA, and some of its members also addressed a gathering of traders of East Dimapur and village council members Wednesday morning.
EDBA president, Solomon L Awomi, who is also a part of the ACAUT officials, said that Wednesday’s closure of shops was a result of a meeting at Durga Mandir on Monday, in the light of complains of multiple and forceful monetary demands by Naga political groups to traders of East Dimapur.
Senior ACAUT member and Dimapur District Senior Citizens’ Forum official, Hekavi Achumi explained the rationale behind ACAUT’s slogan of “One Tax, One Government”, to the gathering. He served a reminder that as long as the Naga political groups fail to accept the One Tax, One Government mode of taxation as suggested by ACAUT “we will keep fighting like this.”
President of the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce, Hokivi Chishi commiserated with his counterparts of East Dimapur and shared that the business community in Dimapur has been sandwiched between the ACAUT’s call for “One Tax, One Government” on one hand and the threat from tax collectors in the form of Naga political groups, on the other hand.
The only deciding factor to decide which way the pendulum would swing, he reasoned, was the public support. “We need your support,” Hokivi appealed.
Joel Nillo Kath, vice-president of ACAUT, reminded the gathered traders of East Dimapur that “taxation is the cause of factionalism and factionalism is the cause of taxation.”
His message to the traders was that if they were indulging in paying off “illegal” taxes clandestinely, then they were “encouraging factionalism.” Kath, in a message directed to the non-Naga traders in Dimapur, cautioned that if they (the traders) somehow pay off the monetary demands from one faction, the ultimately the other factions will also rush in with their own demands.
He requested them to support and stick to the ACAUT demand for “One Tax, One Government”, come what may. Also, highlighting the numerous threats that ACUAT members have encountered from Naga political groups, Kath insisted that it was best left for the Naga public to judge whether ACAUT was anti-Naga or not.
